PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER A family heads off down Union Grove State Park’s South Trail near the spillway/waterfall on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. The park located south of Gladbrook in Tama County along with more than 40 other Iowa state parks and forests hosted a First Day Hike this year in what has become an annual tradition.

GLADBROOK — Fierce western winds certainly did not make it easy to start 2025 on the right foot with a ‘First Day Hike’ at one of Iowa’s more than 40 participating state parks and forests but several groups of hikers bravely took on the challenge last Wednesday at Union Grove State Park in rural Gladbrook northwest of Garwin.

At least three groups of bundled up folks were observed hiking the South Trail in and around Union Grove Lake just ahead of 1 p.m. on Jan. 1 — a time when the lake’s air temperatures hovered just under a seasonal 30F but the howling west-northwest winds made it feel closer to 10F especially in exposed, non-wooded areas.

Both the north and south sides of the lake were ice-covered while open water in the center lashed hard at the south end’s icy frontier just below the park cabins.

Despite the piercing cold and wicked winds, birds were fairly plentiful for those with a keen ear and pair of binoculars, especially around the waterfall and in the snags along the wooded portions of the trails.

Bird species tallied that afternoon by a youngster who said she was working on her 2025 ‘Big Year’ list included dark-eyed junco, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, northern cardinal, song sparrow, and a stunning red-headed woodpecker moving among the forest below the park cabins. Canada geese were also observed in large numbers that day at Union Grove including one that managed a fairly comical landing on the ice in the lake’s southwest inlet.

For those unable to make it outside on Jan. 1 this year, descriptions for all the First Day Hikes – including the self-guided hike at Union Grove – can be accessed on the Iowa DNR’s First Day Hikes 2025 website: https://www.iowadnr.gov/Places-to-Go/State-Parks/First-Day-Hikes.

For no matter the calendar date, it’s never too late to take a hike.